Chile launches Latam-GPT, an open-source AI model trained on Latin American data and culture

Chile launches open-source AI model designed for Latin America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Chile on Tuesday launched the first open-source artificial intelligence language model trained on the diverse cultures of Latin America, aiming to better reflect regional realities and strengthen the region's presence in the global AI race. Latam-GPT is the result of a two-year regional effort led by the National Center of Artificial Intelligence of Chile, CENIA, and supported by over 30 institutions across eight Latin American countries. "Artificial intelligence is the greatest technological revolution of recent times, and from Latin America and the Caribbean, it is strategic and urgent that we play a role," Chilean President Gabriel Boric said Tuesday after the launch, noting that the new system will be key to adding Latin American data and identity to AI. Announced at the February 2025 Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, the project launched in early 2023 to address linguistic biases in models trained primarily on English data. Rather than competing directly with consumer tools like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, Latam-GPT acts as a foundational infrastructure for future regional applications. "Latam-GPT is trained with a proportion of Latin American data that previously did not exist online and was not included in existing models," said Rodrigo Durán, executive director at CENIA. "This allows for more accurate, correct and efficient performance when it comes to Latin America and the Caribbean." Latam-GPT is trained on data from private sources obtained through strategic partnerships across the region, as well as synthetic data used to address areas identified as underrepresented, said Gabriela Arriagada, a researcher at CENIA and head of the project's ethics team. Developing Latam-GPT required collecting more than eight terabytes of data, equivalent to millions of books. "When we talk about incorporating Latin American culture, we are referring to a training approach designed to address data that reflects cultural realities, identifying where gaps exist in other models, understanding their shortcomings, and gradually building knowledge to improve that representation," Arriagada added. Latam-GPT is a "very important milestone for Latin America," as it contains data that captures each country's particularities, said Luis Chiruzzo, an engineering professor at the University of the Republic in Uruguay not involved with the project. "That provides some assurance that, at the very least, everyone is included in the training," Chiruzzo added. For now, the project will operate primarily in Spanish and Portuguese, with plans to incorporate Indigenous languages in later stages. The development of Latam-GPT means the region now has the technical capacity to build AI models, according to Durán, the executive director at CENIA. "The fact that Latin America has come together to form a collaborative group is a very positive sign. It shows that Latin America can develop and understand how to create this technology, which also has important implications for regulation, because you cannot regulate something you do not understand," he added. Chiruzzo believes it will be difficult for Latam-GPT to compete with larger corporations with greater resources. "Still, it's an important step forward and will make it possible to start positioning ourselves in the world of language models with our own voice," Chiruzzo said. The race for AI leadership has led countries to rethink their policies and initiatives for developing AI technologies. The United States, China and the European Union have more than half the world's most powerful data centers to develop and support AI systems, according to data published by Oxford University. Africa and South America have almost no AI hubs, according to the report. Chile has been racing to expand its role in the AI boom over the past few years by attracting new talent and building new data centers. In June last year, President Boric said in his State of the Union speech that the country must embrace AI, adding that a "country that does not invest in artificial intelligence risks falling behind in tomorrow's global landscape." Latam-GPT was developed with just $550,000 in funding from CENIA's budget and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). The team used Amazon Web Services' cloud to develop its first version, which will be launched at the end of February. The subsequent versions will be trained on a supercomputer at the University of Tarapacá in northern Chile, which costs about $4.5 million, starting in the first semester of 2026. ___

Latam-GPT: a Latin American AI to combat US-centric bias

Santiago (Chile) (AFP) - Move over ChatGPT. Chile on Tuesday launched Latam-GPT, an open-source artificial intelligence model for the region, designed to combat bias inherent in a US-centric industry. Developed by the Chilean National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA), Latam-GPT uses millions of data points collected in Latin America to showcase the continent's cultural diversity. "Thanks to Latam-GPT, we're positioning the region as an active and sovereign player in the economy of the future," President Gabriel Boric said of the initiative. "We're at the table -- we're not on the menu," he added. According to Chile's Science Minister Aldo Valle, the program was built to combat what he called prejudices and generalizations about people and countries from the region. Latin America, he added, "cannot simply be a passive user or recipient of artificial intelligence systems. That could result in the loss of a significant part of our traditions." Unlike closed generative models like ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, Latam-GPT is an open model that can be used by programmers to customize parts of the software to suit their needs. Contributions to the project, and data for the model's training, were provided by Latin American universities, foundations, libraries, government entities and civil society organizations in countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. "The models developed in other parts of the world do have data from Latin America but it represent a fairly small proportion," CENIA director Alvaro Soto noted. This low level of diverse input is sometimes reflected in the depictions of Latin Americans by major AI models. ChatGPT, for example, portrays a typical Chilean man as a person wearing a poncho with the Andes in the background. Indigenous content Major US tech companies dominate the global AI race, with low-cost Chinese models rapidly gaining ground and Europe lagging in third place. Other regions of the world are also embracing the importance of developing public AI models that respect their cultural norms and safety standards. In 2023, Singapore researchers released the open-source Southeast Asian Languages in One Network, or SEA-LION model, while in Kenya, the UlizaLLama LLM provides health services for Swahili-speaking expectant mothers. Latam-GPT has been trained on more than eight terabytes of data, equivalent to millions of books. It was developed for a mere $550,000, sourced primarily from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and CENIA's own resources. A first version was developed on the Amazon Web Services cloud, but in future, Latam-GPT will be trained on a supercomputer at the University of Tarapaca in northern Chile. For now, it is trained mainly in Spanish and Portuguese content, although its developers plan to incorporate material in Indigenous Latin American languages. Slang and sayings Latam-GPT will be available free of charge to companies and public institutions to develop applications more specific to Latin America, said Soto, the CENIA director. He cited potential applications for hospitals "with logistical problems or issues with the use of medical resources." Its tiny budget means Latam-GPT has "no chance" of competing against the major AI models, Alejandro Barros, a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Chile, told AFP. But it has already won over Chilean serial digital entrepreneur Roberto Musso, whose company Digevo plans to use Latam-GPT to develop customer service programs for airlines or retailers. Musso said his clients were "very interested in having their users express themselves and receive responses in the local language." Latam-GPT, he said, provides the ability to recognize regional "slang, idioms, and even speech rate" and avoid biases that could arise in other AI models.

Chile Launches Open-Source AI Model Designed for Latin America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Chile on Tuesday launched the first open-source artificial intelligence language model trained on the diverse cultures of Latin America, aiming to better reflect regional realities and strengthen the region's presence in the global AI race. Latam-GPT is the result of a two-year regional effort led by the National Center of Artificial Intelligence of Chile, CENIA, and supported by over 30 institutions across eight Latin American countries. "Artificial intelligence is the greatest technological revolution of recent times, and from Latin America and the Caribbean, it is strategic and urgent that we play a role," Chilean President Gabriel Boric said Tuesday after the launch, noting that the new system will be key to adding Latin American data and identity to AI. Announced at the February 2025 Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, the project launched in early 2023 to address linguistic biases in models trained primarily on English data. Rather than competing directly with consumer tools like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, Latam-GPT acts as a foundational infrastructure for future regional applications. "Latam-GPT is trained with a proportion of Latin American data that previously did not exist online and was not included in existing models," said Rodrigo Durán, executive director at CENIA. "This allows for more accurate, correct and efficient performance when it comes to Latin America and the Caribbean." Latam-GPT is trained on data from private sources obtained through strategic partnerships across the region, as well as synthetic data used to address areas identified as underrepresented, said Gabriela Arriagada, a researcher at CENIA and head of the project's ethics team. Developing Latam-GPT required collecting more than eight terabytes of data, equivalent to millions of books. "When we talk about incorporating Latin American culture, we are referring to a training approach designed to address data that reflects cultural realities, identifying where gaps exist in other models, understanding their shortcomings, and gradually building knowledge to improve that representation," Arriagada added. Latam-GPT is a "very important milestone for Latin America," as it contains data that captures each country's particularities, said Luis Chiruzzo, an engineering professor at the University of the Republic in Uruguay not involved with the project. "That provides some assurance that, at the very least, everyone is included in the training," Chiruzzo added. For now, the project will operate primarily in Spanish and Portuguese, with plans to incorporate Indigenous languages in later stages. The development of Latam-GPT means the region now has the technical capacity to build AI models, according to Durán, the executive director at CENIA. "The fact that Latin America has come together to form a collaborative group is a very positive sign. It shows that Latin America can develop and understand how to create this technology, which also has important implications for regulation, because you cannot regulate something you do not understand," he added. Chiruzzo believes it will be difficult for Latam-GPT to compete with larger corporations with greater resources. "Still, it's an important step forward and will make it possible to start positioning ourselves in the world of language models with our own voice," Chiruzzo said. The race for AI leadership has led countries to rethink their policies and initiatives for developing AI technologies. The United States, China and the European Union have more than half the world's most powerful data centers to develop and support AI systems, according to data published by Oxford University. Africa and South America have almost no AI hubs, according to the report. Chile has been racing to expand its role in the AI boom over the past few years by attracting new talent and building new data centers. In June last year, President Boric said in his State of the Union speech that the country must embrace AI, adding that a "country that does not invest in artificial intelligence risks falling behind in tomorrow's global landscape." Latam-GPT was developed with just $550,000 in funding from CENIA's budget and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). The team used Amazon Web Services' cloud to develop its first version, which will be launched at the end of February. The subsequent versions will be trained on a supercomputer at the University of Tarapacá in northern Chile, which costs about $4.5 million, starting in the first semester of 2026. ___ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america